Pope thanks Italian coast guard for rescue operations with migrants
February 18, 2015
Pope Francis met on February 17 with a delegation from the Italian coast guard, thanking them for their work in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.
The Pontiff spent 45 minutes on Tuesday evening with members of the Italian fleet, which had recently saved over 2,000 refugees off the island of Lampedusa. The refugees were traveling, in inadequate overcrowded craft, from Libya, were a deteriorating security situation has launched a new wave of migrants.
The coast guard members told the Pope that as they sought to help the migrants, they were threatened by armed men who approached on a speedboat from the Libyan coast. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that the Pope’s guests had “moving and inspiring” tales of their work.
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